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Friday, September 30, 2011

Totally agree with Bruce that Missouri just doesn't excite me as an SEC follower.

If I was the SEC I would pursue Florida State the hardest and try to convince Florida it is the best move the league. The SEC does not need new markets as they are already national with CBS and ESPN Prime Time, they need more viewers. The Seminoles are the only team within the geographic area that can bring a significant amount of new viewers.

You cannot have an option/running QB averaging just 2.9 yards per carry.

From CBSSports.com

Mississippi State QB Chis Relf leads the team with 65 rushes this season. Despite Relf's 2.9 average per carry [Emphasis Added], Georgia defenders say he's dangerous. “We have to make sure to contain him and not let him get in the open,” OLB Chase Vasser said. “If he gets in the open, he can make plays.”

Blair Walsh said his confidence is fine after missing three FGs against Ole Miss. “I looked at a couple of technique stuff, and I figured out what I need to fix,” Walsh said. “It's something really simple, and I'm going to fix it. It's nothing drastic, just a couple of approach things.”: K Blair Walsh said his confidence is fine after missing three FGs against Ole Miss. “I looked at a couple of technique stuff, and I figured out what I need to fix,” Walsh said. “It's something really simple, and I'm going to fix it. It's nothing drastic, just a couple of approach things.”

Clemson and Virginia Tech meet in Blacksburg this Saturday matching two the highest ranked ACC teams. Even with a loss, Kanell thinks both are still in very good shape to win out due to the relative ease of their remaining schedules.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Miss State head coach also talks about where he is in building the Bulldog program to a championship level and what it is like playing in the toughest division in college football with Atlanta's 680 The Fan

LSU defeated West Virginia late Saturday night 47-21. Afterwards was the obligatory hello to the traveling Tiger fans, press conferences, showers, and Tyrann Mathieu meetings with ESPN Gameday before beginning their trek back to Cajun country.

First up on LSU's odyssey was a bus ride to Clarksburg, WV.

The Tigers flew into Pittsburgh on Friday, but decided to fly out of the small town in the middle of the Mountaineer state.

Clarksburg is a 35 minute ride from Mountaineer field through the hills of West Virginia. LSU Assistant SID Bill Martin chronicled the journey.

Les Miles and his band of Tigers finally made it to North West Central West Virginia Airport around 2:30 ET

From there they boarded their plane back to Baton Rouge landing at around.....?

Yes, LSU did make it back home safely....by way of a country road (and a 757).

The Yellow Jackets already have two in state commits in Chris Bolden and Marcus Hunt and are working on numbers three and four.

According to the AJC, potential McDonald's All American Tony Parker was scheduled to visit Tech on Saturday. The Lithonia, Ga. product has never seriously considered the Jackets until recently. The AJC also notes Parker may visit UGA with committed teammate Brandon Morris in a few weeks.

Speaking of UGA they have two other in state commits to go along with Morris. Mark Fox garnered the pledge of point guard Charles Mann and combo guard Kenny Gaines over the summer to bolster the Bulldogs back court of the future.

Georgia very likely has four scholarships to give out in 2012 and UGA is targeting an inside player with the final offer. Along with Parker, the Bulldogs are going after Shaq Goodwin and Robert Carter, whom the Jackets are also pursuing heavily.

I still think Parker is headed out of state, but the fact that he taking time out to visit Georgia Tech out of his own pocket (it is an unofficial visit) says something.

If Gregory doesn't land Parker he still may have a solid inside presence on the way if he can land Carter who recently transferred from Thomasville in South Georgia to the metro Atlanta putting him much closer to Tech and further away from another one of his favorites FSU.

The basketball talent in the Atlanta area has exploded in the last five years putting it up there with New York, Chicago and LA as one of the top places to recruit. Despite plenty of talent in their own backyard, UCLA hired away the Atlanta Celtics AAU coach in the off season to help recruit the area.

The Georgia Tech Head Coach talks about how UNC's defense played his offense, his end of game strategy kicking the ball back to the Tar Heels, and if he calls different plays for Tevin Washington than Joshua Nesbitt among other items.

The Irish had their confidence restored after drumming Michigan State last week. Meanwhile, Pitt must have been distracted by the move to the ACC because they let a three touchdown lead slip away at Iowa turning the Hawkeyes into an offensive juggernaut in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame has more talent than Pitt and despite playing on the road may have more fans at Heinz Field. Irish are favored by 6.5

Oklahoma State vs Texas AM
Hey look, there is a top 10 matchup in the Big 12 and nobody seems to care because everybody in that league is hoping has super conference goggles on and is really horny.

I think the Aggies win this one by slowing down Justin Blackmon and Brandon Weeden.

Tulsa at Boise State
This line has moved against the Broncos staring at -32.5 and down to -28. Boise State is a remarkable 28-12 ATS in the last three plus seasons.

A statistical look at Ole Miss’ season to date shows a defense which starts out strong but fades over the course of the game…

•In the first halves, Ole Miss’ opponents have rushed for 224 yards on 59 carries (3.8 yards). In the second halves? On the same amount of carries, 371 yards (6.29). Take that a step further, and isolate just the first quarter – 30 carries for 58 yards (1.93).

… and a struggling offense.

•In the first halves of the first three games, Ole Miss has completed a combined 14 of 30 passes, for 146 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

•On third downs, Ole Miss has run the ball 15 times, for negative-34 yards.

•The average starting position for the opposition after a turnover is the Ole Miss 40.5-yard line.

"Bud Elliott from Tomahawknation.com and Adam Kramer from the Kegs N' Eggs Blog have teamed up with Drew Collins to discuss handicapping in the world of college football. On this week's ON THE LINE podcast the guys discuss all the big games coming up this weekend and recap the big ones from last Saturday. Does Arkansas have a shot against Alabama? How will Clemson and Florida State respond after emotional games? Is this Georgia Tech team for real? And will the crew bet against Memphis once again? All this and much more on this week's podcast."

AJC Beat Writer Ken Sugiura did a nice job getting the predictions of some prominent Atlanta media on how Georgia Tech would do this season.

Everyone predicted a 3-0 start, but Chuck Oliver and Steak Shapiro each thought the Jackets would lose to UNC. Everyone in the group thought Tech would lose in two weeks at NC State and the home finale against UGA.

Tom O'Brien is a highly respected head coach because of the discipline and dedication he expects from this players.

After winning 28 games from 2004-2006 at Boston College, O'Brien left Chesnut Hill to take over NC State.

His first three years were rough winning just 16 games and no winning seasons.

Last season, NC State finally broke through winning nine games including beating West Virginia in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Leading the Wolfpack was All-ACC QB Russel Wilson who threw 28 touchdowns and over 3,500 yards. Although Wilson had begun to play baseball in the off season with the Colorado Rockies it was thought he would return for his senior season and give State a chance at an ACC Championship.

O'Brien never gave him that chance.

Wilson was told if he stuck around in the Spring and Summer he would have a CHANCE TO COMPETE for the starting job with his backup from last season Mike Glennon.

A bold move by O'Brien who wanted Wilson to give his full attention to football. The Naval Academy graduate also felt Glennon was ready to take over if necessary.

When Wilson decided to play baseball with the Rockies he was released from his scholarship. After visiting several schools, Wilson decided to play his final season at Wisconsin.

After their 44-14 loss to a middle of the road Big East team Cincinnati, NC State is 2-2.

Meanwhile, Wilson has Wisconsin at 3-0 churning out over 500 yards and 45 points per game.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The UGA-Ole Miss line opened with the Bulldogs just a 6.5 point favorite.

Everybody quickly saw what I did and moved the line to -10. I still liked UGA.

Then came multiple losses on the offensive line, arguably Georgia's weakest position group.

The anchor of the line, Center Ben Jones, will move to Guard and true freshman David Andrews will start at Center. To make matters worse Jones didn't even practice fully on Wednesday due to Montezuma's revenge. Is Peria Jerry still playing in Oxford? Thankfully, not for Mark Richt.

So despite all this I still like UGA to win this game and if you make me I would take UGA against the spread. Here's why:

1. Georgia has way more talent than Ole Miss

The recruiting rankings tell me so. And before you say UGA hasn't lived up to those rankings, has Ole Miss done any better?

2. Despite all the bickering about OC Mike Bobo, UGA has a very good offense

The Bulldogs are averaging 41 points per game and 427 yards of offense this season. Their 10.5 Yards Per Point is one of the best in the conference and that includes the turnover debacle against South Carolina. In fact, this offense has a chance to break some school records at the pace they are setting.

3. Ole Miss Run Defense Is Not Very Good

UGA wants to get Isaiah Crowell more touches. If he stays healthy Saturday he should have a really good day against the Rebels who yield almost 200 yards per game on the ground. Crowell churning out yards will allow UGA to control the clock and take the crowd out of it.

4. Georgia Has Played a Much Tougher Schedule

Even with the game against Coastal Carolina last week, the Bulldogs have played the 19th toughest schedule according to the Sagarin ratings. Ole Miss has played the 62nd toughest.

This should be a relatively easy win for Georgia. Before all this movement on the offensive line I even liked UGA at a -10.

UNC's Scout.com site Inside Carolina runs a neat feature asking former letterman about the Tar Heels performance and what they need to do to get ready for their next opponent.

One of the contributors is Deems May:
BIO: Deems May excelled at tight end for UNC and was drafted in 1992, playing eight seasons in the NFL. He's since become a fan favorite for his candid commentary on the Tar Heel Sports Network.

The IC staff asked the former letterman what UNC needed to do to beat Ga. Tech and keep their win streak alive?

Deems: Long, sustained, time-consuming touchdown drives on offense. Defensively, I think we need to take some chances. I’d like to see us put everybody up in the box, shoot gaps, slant, disrupt timing, cause havoc. Shoot, as a changeup, I would go so far as even stand all four guys up on the DL about 1 ½ yards off the ball, read and react with our speed. If we get beat deep, so be it. Allowing 10 play, 80 yard drives with 4-8 yards a chunk can be de-moralizing. (See Kansas last week, I haven’t seen the tape but if Kansas gave up 66 points to a triple-option team, they flat-out quit, there just isn’t enough time in a game to score that much running the ball without a team quitting). I am excited about having Charles Brown and Tre Boston on the corners for run support. Those guys are as good as there is against the run and I believe will be the keys to getting some big stops and beating the cut blocks by their wide receivers. Lastly, we can’t get frustrated up front. Georgia Tech is the dirtiest team in college football. Their coach takes pride in it and they do too. Referees just can’t call over 2-3 illegal blocks a game and they know this. They are willing to give up 2-3 illegal chop block penalties and get away with 20-25 more. They want you to take a swing at them and get thrown out. We have to be disciplined and poised. Many people have counted us out in this game, not me. I feel like I did two years ago when I couldn’t get anyone to ride with me to Blacksburg on a Thursday night. If you see a white pickup with a Carolina football sticker on the back heading south on 85 early Saturday morning, honk!

The Wolfpack and Bearcats kick the weekend action of in the Queen City Thursday night in a return game from last season which NC State won 30-19.

Here are some notes from that game and both programs to help you make your decision on who may win and/or cover the spread.

The line opened with Cincy -7 and has moved to -7.5 as of Wednesday night.

- Last season, neither offense was as efficient in their head to head matchup than on the season as a whole

- NC State's Yards Per Point (a key metric I like because it takes into account turnovers) was 16.4 which is below average for a BCS team; on the season the Wolfpack had a respectable 12.7 YPP

- Cincinnati's was even further off their season average; in this game a year ago the Bearcats took 20.3 YPP vs 15.4 on the season

- So far in 2011, State has a 10.8 YPP but Cincy has an astounding 8.4 meaning their average touchdown drive is about 60 yards

- Such a low YPP tells me likely at least two of these are occurring:
a)Cincinnati's offense does a good job of scoring TDs and not field goals
b)their defense has forced some turnovers to give them short fields
c)their defense does not allow other teams to move the ball over midfield much
d)their punt return game is outstanding

- Both defenses are pretty good giving up 16.6 YPP (NCSU) and 16.8 (UC)

- According to the Sagarin ratings NC State's schedule ranks 132nd amongst FBS and FCS teams while Cincinnati's ranks 215 which is in the bottom 15%

- Cincinnati ranks 67th in the latest Sagarin rankings and State has already lost to the 62nd ranked team Wake Forest on the road by seven

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

With the Pac-12 deciding to stay put at 12 schools, it appears the super conference idea is dead for the time being.

The ACC has already expanded to 14 wanting to protect itselft from any defections anticipating a move to super conferences. I don't know if the league can de invite Pitt and Syracuse (doubt they could and not sure they would want to anyways) so we have to assume in 27 months the two schools will be joining the ACC.

As the only BCS conference at 14 teams, this is how the ACC can make it work and strengthen the conference.

1. Go To a 9 Game Conference Schedule
I don't think the ACC deserves all the bad press it gets about its teams being terrible and not able to compete with the "big boys" of college football. The league suffers from being the neighbor of the SEC (which noone can compete with) and also the league has a much greater porportion of small, private schools than other BCS leagues. Miami, Wake Forest, Duke, and Boston College are all private. Georgia Tech is a public school, but is highly specialized in Engineering and Technology degrees. When you have smaller, highly academic schools your proportion of rabid football fans drops dramatically.

So what does this have to do with playing one more conference game? The overwhelming majority of ACC teams need help filling their stadiums, especially when playing non-conference, non-rivalry games. Only FSU, Clemson, and Virginia Tech can fill their stadiums with regularity and even the Seminoles and Tigers have had trouble in recent years. The ACC could go out and schedule more big time, non conference opponents to generate fan interest but that would likely lead to even more non-conference losses and lower the league's standing amongst the national scene even more.

Let a 9th conference game be that "big time" opponent. An extra conference game would also help...

2. Generate More Rivalries
Going to a 9 game league schedule would certainly help this. As it stands, teams go up to four years without playing each other. With the move to 14, it will be five years. Some teams in different leagues play more often than that. You cannot feel any sense of a rivalry when you play a school twice a decade The ACC doesn't need the Clemson vs Wofford games played gaining on Clemson vs Virginia games played all time.

3. Keep The Championship Game in Charlotte
You would think the league would have already figured this out when they saw the attendance last year and buzz in the city, but this is the league that put their first championship game in a city with zero ties to the conference.

Charlotte was originally left out due to climate, but this is football and the chance of snow or ice in early December is pretty small. The city is so much closer to the majority of ACC teams and the city wants the game to work unlike Jacksonville or Tampa. If the league wants to have warmer temperatures for the game then they should move it to a Noon or 1PM start.

4. Play More Conference Games in Basketball and Start Them in December
Basketball revenue pales in comparison to football at most every school expect UNC, Duke, and Syracuse but that two additions to the league clearly help basketball more than football.

To maximize this addition the league needs to have all of these great basketball schools play each other instead of scheduling creampuffs in December to pad their win totals.

Basketball is the one sport where playing tough competition is rewarded, In football you just get sent down the polls when you lose regardless.

Attendance is dropping in college basketball at the non-elite schools because the masses cannot figure who is on the team anymore with so many defections to the NBA. Throw in 10 cupcakes a year and why pay to see a product where you know the outcome and don't know the cast playing?

The college sports scene is dead after the first week in December. Why not take advantage of this down time by grabbing the spotlight with some marquee matchups in the league?

I layed out four proposals for the ACC to make the move to 14 work. What other proposals do you have?

The Yellow Jackets are six point favorites against the Tar Heels on Saturday and after blowing away the last three spreads as favorites Georgia Tech may be feeling this game will be another easy win.

Here are five reasons why it may not be:

1. Georgia Tech's Team and Fan Base Feels Invincible Now
After scoring 66 points and running up 768 yards last Saturday, not to mention 49 against MTSU and 63 versus Western Carolina in prior weeks I wonder if the team thinks they can roll their helmets out and score 40+ points on UNC?

2. Speaking of That Schedule
The Jackets have rolled up nearly 700 yards per game of offense against the 146th ranked scheduled in the nation.

3. North Carolina Has Five NFL Prospects In Their Front Seven
The strength of this Tar Heel defense is on the defensive line. Disruption in the backfield is the best way to stop Tech's spread option offense. Just ask LSU (2008) or Miami (2009 and 2010) or Clemson (2010)

4. The Yellow Jackets Offense Is Masking Their Problems on Defense
Tech ranks 49th in total defense and scoring defense. Not bad, but not great either. Other stats are less impressive though.

The Jackets are allowing opponents to complete 62% of their passes. UNC is completing 81% thus far.

Georgia Tech's defense is allowing a 48% conversions on third down,good for 102nd in the nation. Despite such blowouts forcing opponents to play one-dimensional, the Yellow Jackets rank just 88th in tackle for loss.

As long as opponents are converting third downs that means Tech's high powered offense remains on the sideline.

5.UNC Has Lost 6 Straight in Atlanta, But 4 Games Have Been Decided By A Touchdown Or Less.
You know the old saying if you keep knocking on the door it will finally open? And Butch Davis is no longer on the sideline to screw it up.

However, despite all this if Georgia Tech comes to play and executes like they have thus far then they will win this game. If they just roll their helmets out and expect it to be like last week they will be sent crashing back to earth.

With the additions of Syracuse and Pitt on Sunday, the ACC is poised to become the first new super conference.

These two northern additions sure up the conference's spot as the number one basketball league but as we all know this consolidation effort amongst leagues is ultimately driven by money.

I hope the ACC only goes to 16 as a last resort because geographic rivalries are what makes college sports so great, but since that seems to be disregarded...

Here are the next likely additions to the ACC:

Texas
The Longhorns make no sense geographically, but their ability to generate revenue from football is unquestioned. Texas would bring top level academics to the league as well something that is very important to the ACC. The thing that could prevent UT is their unwillingness to share revenue.

Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are the closest BCS school to New York City and the number one media market. Their academics will again fit in nicely into the ACC. But Rutgers sports success is paltry and the ACC may be satisfied in NYC with Syracuse.

UConn
I personally disagree would disagree this addition but it would complete a northern tier of the league that would include BC, Syracuse, Pitt and possibly one other team. The Huskies are one of the elite basketball programs and their academics would not be at the bottom, but they add almost zero in football.

West Virginia
The only thing keeping the Mountaineers from joining the ACC is academics.

WVU has natural rivalries with Maryland, Virginia Tech, and new members Pitt and Syracuse. West Virginia has been the best football program in the league over the last decade and has by far the biggest following in the league.

The ACC can afford to add West Virginia to the league because they have institutions like Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Virginia to balance out their academics.

Alas, I think the Mountaineers are down the list solely due to their 164 (tied) ranking in US News and World Report which would be by far the lowest in the league.

Louisville
The Cardinals bring a strong tradition in basketball and a good medium size media market. The football program has shown glimmers of promise as well. Gaining Louisville would make the in state matchup with Kentucky an ACC vs SEC affair.

However, like WVU Louisville's academic rankings (164 tied) are a black eye on their admission.

This move towards expansion indicates the ACC wanted to protect itself from other leagues raiding their members as well as secure their place in the new super conference world that is coming (sadly IMO).

Currently, the league has two division - Atlantic and Coastal. Bonus points if you can name the teams in each division.

When the ACC expanded to 12 back in 2005 it went with a competitive balance approach to divisions instead of geographical. This has caused much confusion amongst the average college football fan since it is not easily identifiable which team is in which division.

Adding two new members gives the league an opportunity to hit the reset button on the divisional alignment if they want to.

North and South are the most obvious divisions geographically. Here is how that alignment may look.

North
Boston College
Maryland
Virginia
Virginia Tech
Syracuse
Pitt
One of the NC schools (UNC would make the most sense)

From a competitive standpoint I think you have to put UNC or NC State in the North division.

However, the ACC has competitive balance currently in the divisions and could add Pitt and Syracuse to the current alignment. That move would make minimal disruption in future schedules.

In this scenario, adding Syracuse to the Coastal and Pitt to the Atlantic would make sense. I think the Coastal is slightly stronger than the Atlantic with four straight league titles.

Despite the current confusion in division membership, I think the ACC sticks with the current alignment slotting Pitt and Syracuse into opposite divisions with each other being the yearly opponent.

Personally, I think college football is losing a little bit of luster going to this super conference alignment. The feel of conference camaraderie is lessened greatly when you have 14 or 16 teams in a league because you cannot play each other enough.

Whatever your feelings are on super conferences we at least know the ACC is the first to arrive at the party.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Former South Carolina beat writer Travis Haney covered the Gamecocks bowl loss to the Seminoles in the Chick Fil A Bowl last year. A game where the promise of this season began for FSU.

Haney talks about how players like Greg Reid must set the tone for Florida State on defense. The new Sooners' reporter also talks about how Bob Stoops has embraced this season's high expectations for Oklahoma.

Swinney talks about the Auburn game last year, the Tigers struggles against Wofford last week, and how Auburn's offense is difference this year than last year among other things with Barnhart and Durham.

So if the Big 12 folds it is sounding more and more like Texas will be looking for a conference than going out as an Independent.

And the conference that makes the most sense for Texas appears to be the ACC for one simple reason. Texas would not have to give up the Longhorn Network.

If the Longhorns moved to the Pac 12 then Fox Sports could have a legitimate beef with the tv deal since they share rights with ESPN for the conference. The B1G would likely force the LHN to fold into the B1G Network already running.

I am still in favor of the Big 12 adding a BYU or Boise State to replace Texas A&M and hold the league together. But if Texas was so dead set on saving the Big 12 they would simply agree to equal revenue sharing (along with Oklahoma). It isn't like the UT will suddenly lose any revenue advantage with an equal piece of the pie so spare me any sympathy if the Big 12 does fold and Texas displays anger or sadness from the move.

But back to Texas in the ACC.

This move sounds really good on paper. The ACC needs a school with "national" appeal in football to help their image in athletics. That used to be FSU and Miami's jobs but those teams have fallen on hard times for nearly all of the life of a 12 team ACC.

Texas to the ACC makes sense on two conditions:1. Equal Revenue Sharing

The first order of business is discussions with Texas must be revenue sharing. The Longhorns can keep their network (which nobody can watch anyways) but all other revenue MUST be shared equally. I don't care that Texas would generate eight times the football revenue that Wake Forest does for the conference you cannot run a league that way (as Texas is finding out right now).

2. Texas' buyout to get out of the league is the same as everyone else

Many ACC fans think John Swofford is too reactive when it comes to conference issues. But selling out the rest of the conference just to gain the favor of Texas for a few years would outweigh all of his other issues combined.

If I was negotiating on the ACC's behalf I would test Texas' commitment to the ACC by making their buyout higher than other members for a short amount of time after joining the league. The Longhorns would likely balk, but at least you make the impression.

Below are some other pros and cons to Texas joining the ACC, but I feel the two issues raised above must be resolved first before making a deal. If they cannot be resolved then I think the ACC would be making a mistake by adding Texas.

Pros:Marquee football program with national appealAbility to tap better into Texas recruiting marketGive conference a much better chance at two BCS spotsAcademics are on par with rest of conferenceACC Basketball, Baseball and other sports would benefit from Texas on the schedule

Cons: Make it harder for everybody not named Duke to win the conferenceGeographically and culturally awkward fitNo one can remember the divisional alignment now, how is it going to work with 13 teams?

(I didn't take into account other potential negatives like travel costs because it doesn't matter for football and it is only trip a year for current ACC teams who already travel to places outside the conference anyways).

One of the most highly recruited defensive players from Georgia is leaving the state for Palo Alto.

Sound familiar? Last season Stanford plucked arguably the state's best linebacker James Vaughters and this season snagged one of the best defensive lineman Jordan Watkins.

Watkins chose Stanford over UGA in the end but it was initially thought he would be a near lock for Georgia Tech having grown up a Yellow Jacket fan. Alas, Tech does not offer Watkins desired major of Broadcast Journalism (despite having two major television outlets bordering the campus - CNN and Turner). The staff sold Watkins on internships at CNN and Turner but that was not enough in his eyes.

Last recruiting season, the Jackets lost out on other thought to be near lock when Stephon Tuitt chose Notre Dame over Georgia Tech.

Despite being in the same state UGA and Tech do not go head to head on a large number of prospects like you would see in neighboring states like Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina.

For one, the offenses are very different so you have different QBs, linemen, and running backs. The defenses are the same, but Georgia Tech's academic requirement lessens their pool as does the pull towards the hometown Bulldogs. Tech has almost zero chance of pulling a rural kid away from UGA if both are offering; their best chances are more so in the metro Atlanta area where academics tend to be higher on average.

The problem with Georgia Tech's recruiting is that schools like Stanford and Notre Dame want some of those same kids with high academics. The Cardinal and Irish have bigger national names and offer a much wider variety of majors to kids like Watkins who may not want to do Business or Engineering.

Until Georgia Tech expands its academic offerings expect more than a few kids with high academics to go out of state.

Crowell's biggest comparison heading into this season was Lattimore and the impact he had on South Carolina's offense. As you can see Lattimore did not set the world on fire in his first game either against weaker competition than Crowell faced.

Friday, September 9, 2011

U already know. Miami has a league high 44 players on the opening day, active rosters (practice squad not included). However, 15 of those players never played in the ACC having been Hurricanes when they were in the Big East.

The next highest amount for an ACC team was 28 and it was a surprising team to me.

While Miami has not seen a dropoff in NFL talent during lesser seasons, FSU has placing just 25 players on active rosters. The Seminoles had 46 in 2006.

Pride. It is something we all have. Most of us take pride in what we do for a living.

When someone questions our ability to do our "job" correctly we get defensive and lose sight of clear judgment towards that person.

ESPN's ACC Blogger Heather Dinich has picked Middle Tennessee State to beat Georgia Tech this Saturday despite picking the Yellow Jackets as the fifth best team in the ACC in her power rankings earlier this week.

Does this mean that MTSU is better than seven ACC teams?

No. I think Dinich is simply using situational evidence and little bit of a grudge in her selection.

The situational items are easy to understand. Tech is traveling to Murfreesboro for the biggest home game in MTSU history. The Jackets did not handle their first road game against an inferior opponent last season either falling to Kansas. Speaking of the Jayhawks, Tech faces them next week and players may be looking ahead in anticipation of exacting revenge and overlooking a team they beat 42-14 last season. And despite that 28 point win Georgia Tech did not exactly set the world on fire in 2010.

All of that is perfectly reasonable assumptions as to why the Jackets may struggle in this one.
I also get the idea of making a bold pick to get headlines. Dinich has the Tech fanbase stirred up with a wild, but not crazy prediction.

If she is right then she gets all the kudos for a bold pick. If she is wrong then she did not lose anything with a fan base that already discredits her work.

But back to the second reason why Dinich picked MTSU to win.

She does not care much for Paul Johnson.

The rift goes back to 2009 when the ESPN Blogger picked against Georgia Tech in consecutive weeks. First was the program changing win over fourth ranked Virginia Tech at home.

The next week, GT played at Virginia where they had not won since 1990. Again Dinich picked against Tech citing the series history.

UGA Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo is feeling a lot of heat this week in Athens. The only place where the temperature is hotter is under head coach Mark Richt's seat. That heat will be ratcheted up even higher with a loss Saturday against South Carolina. However, that heat could be turned down significantly with a win.

I think Georgia has a game plan for beating South Carolina; something they have used before when their backs were against the wall.

Richt is at the bottom point of his career at UGA. The only game that comes close to this was Georgia Tech in 2009. The Bulldogs were coming off a home loss to Kentucky and staring at 6-6 season traveling to Atlanta to face a Yellow Jacket team who was 10-1 and ranked in the top ten.

Bobo and Richt need to dust off that game plan because it is how they win Saturday.

In that game vs Tech, the Bulldogs used a punishing ground game and clock control to squeeze Tech's chances on offense and shorten the game. That plan led to an upsetwin and got the heat off Richt (temporarily).

UGA does not have the weapons on offense to hang with the Gamecocks score after score. Same thing with defense as Todd Grantham's unit cannot expect to stop Steve Spurrier's offense all night.

The rebuttal here is Georgia's offensive line did not do a great job of run blocking last week, which is true. But it was better than their pass protection and South Carolina has even better pass rushers than Boise State. The Bulldogs offensive line has the size and strength to run the ball.

Defensively, I think the Bulldogs' defense has to make Stephen Garcia beat them with his arm. Stack the box and stopping Marcus Lattimore should be UGA's first priority.

The feeling in Athens is overwhelmingly negative right now and a victory seems unlikely. But South Carolina is beatable if UGA follows this game plan.